Black Orpheus (French). Director Marcel Camus (no kin to Novelist-Playwright Albert) has fashioned an impressive, wildly poetic film from a Brazilian poet's adaptation of the Orpheus legend. The unknown but graceful cast, and the breathtaking image presented of Negro life during a tropical carnival earned it the 1959 Grand Prix at Cannes.

The 400 Blows (French). The story of a small boy's flight from the soiled, loveless world of his parents is a moving metaphor for all humanity trapped in the relentless round of daily life.

Ben-Hur. The best (and most expensive) screen spectacle ever produced.

Third Man on the Mountain. Walt Disney's cliffhanger for the kids.

The Magician (Swedish). Writer-Director Ingmar Bergman mixes his murky symbols into a witch's brew well worth sampling.

[TELEVISION j

Wed., Dec. 16 Woman! (CBS, 4-5 p.m.).* "You Can't Raise Children by the Book" attempts to make that point through a guided tour of the Yale Child Study Center.

Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall (NBC, 9-10 p.m.). With Maurice Evans. Color.

U.S. Steel Hour (CBS, 10-11 p.m.).

Helen Hayes and Patty Duke repeat (in a new production) One Red Rose for Christmas, Paul Horgan's 1958 success about a mother superior and an orphan.

Fri., Dec. 18 Journey to Understanding (NBC, 8-8:30 p.m.). Report on the President's three-day Mediterranean cruise.

Bell Telephone Hour (NBC, 8:30-9 p.m.). Thomas Mitchell (host), Lisa Della Casa and Giorgio Tozzi of the Metropolitan Opera, Rosemary Clooney, twelve-year-old Violinist Penny Ambrose appear in a program of Christmas music.

CBS Reports (10-11 p.m.). Iran: Brittle Ally explores an economy that swings on oil, caviar and carpets.

Sat., Dec. 19 World of the Mind (ABC, 4-5 p.m.).

A new show in cooperation with Yale University. The first episode traces the history of Christmas in America.

Sun., Dec. 20 Presidential Mission -- The Pre-Summit (ABC, 3-3:30 p.m.). A seven-man team headed by ABC News Chief John Daly discusses the Western Big Four meeting.

The George Gobel Show (CBS, 10-10:30 p.m.). Guest: Jack Benny.

Eyewitness to History (CBS, 10:30-11 p.m.). Ike's visit to Iran and Greece.

Tues., Dec. 22 Ford Startime (NBC, 9:30-10:30 p.m.).

Leonard Bernstein, Marian Anderson, the St. Paul's Cathedral Boys' Choir of Lon don and the Schola Cantorum in a program of Christmas music. Color.

Journey to Understanding (NBC, 10:30-11 p.m.). Conclusion of Ike's tour.

THEATER

On Broadway

Five Finger Exercise. Despite contrived moments and false notes, John Gielgud's eloquent direction and Peter Shaffer's sharp dialogue give atmosphere and tension to this play (with Roland Culver and Jessica Tandy) about an English family and the young German tutor who unwittingly feeds the fire of its discontent.

Fiorello! An uneven but lively and enjoyable musical that brings back an engagingly dynamic La Guardia and his gaudy, high-kicking era with a bang.

The Miracle Worker. Remarkably acted by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, William Gibson's fairly makeshift story of Teacher Annie Sullivan's turbulent grappling with the deaf, blind, mute child, Helen Keller, most of the time emerges an unsentimental human document and memorable theater.

The Tenth Man. Playwright Paddy Chayefsky's story about a young girl believed possessed by a dybbuk (evil spirit) fails to save fantasy from sentimentality but succeeds as a genuine theater piece.

Heartbreak House. Shaw's metaphorical portrait of pre-World War I English society, while too miscellaneous and uneven as a whole, offers often brilliant conversation, manifold wit and moments of wisdom. Maurice Evans, Pamela Brown, Diana Wynyard.

Take Me Along. Although this musical version of Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! does not dazzle the senses, it leaves a generally pleasant, nostalgic aftertaste. With Jackie Gleason.

BOOKS

Best Reading

For TIME'S choice of outstanding books published in 1959, see THE YEAR'S BEST, page 81.

Best Sellers FICTION 1. Advise and Consent, Drury (1)* 2. Hawaii, Michener (2.) 3. The Darkness and the Dawn, Costain (6) 4. Poor No More, Ruark (4) 5. The War Lover, Hersey (3) 6. The Ugly American, Lederer and Burdick (9) 7. Exodus, Uris (5) 8. Dear and Glorious Physician, Caldwell (7) 9. The Devil's Advocate, West (8) 10. A Fever in the Blood, Pearson NONFICTION 1 . Act One, Hart ( 1 ) 2. Folk Medicine, Jarvis (4) 3. This Is My God, Wouk (2) 4. The Status Seekers, Packard (3) 5. The Armada, Mattingly (7) 6. For 2-c- Plain, Golden (5) 7. The Longest Day, Ryan (10) 8. The Joy of Music, Bernstein 9. The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (6) 10. How I Turned $1,000 into $1,000,000 in Real Estate, Nickerson

*All times E.S.T. *Position on last week's list.

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